Despite it being undoubtedly a story orchestrated by Disney big-wigs to capitalise on the franchise – this is passable family fare.
If only just.
There’s nothing particularly magical that will linger in the memory for too long – but for fans this does at least expand on The Lion King lore.
And does provide a new story to boot.
Staying in the photo-realistically rendered world that brought us the scene-by-scene rehash of the beloved animated classic in 2019, we see the young female cub Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter), being told a classic story of how her grandfather Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) became king of the Pride Lands.
She is told this tale in the present day, by wise mandrill Rafiki (John Kani) – with comic relief added by meerkat Timon (Bill Eichner) and warthog Pumbaa (Seth Rogen) – as she awaits the return of her parents Nala (Beyoncé Carter-Knowles) and Simba (Donald Glover), who is now the King of Pride Rock.
Through a dizzying amount of flashbacks, we are fed the origin story of how Mufasa met his younger ‘brother’ Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr) – who later evolves into the infamous Scar – and how he is (kinda) taken in by Taka’s father Obasi (Lennie James) and mother Eshe (Thandie Newton), after being separated from his parents and swept away by a tidal wave to new lands.
Taka is being groomed as the future king of said new pastures, but the more courageous Mufasa is tasked with being his protector when the duo are ordered to flee after the vengeful leader – Mads Mikkelsen’s (Casino Royale) Kiros – of a pride of white lions, known as the ‘Outsiders’, takes over Taka’s homeland.
Mufasa and Taka – who along the way pick up a younger version of Rafiki, hornbill Zazu (Preston Nyman) and lioness Sarabi (Tiffany Boone) – then have to try and outrun the chasing pack of bloodthirsty lions as they look for the fabled Pride Rock (known in this time as Milele).
But if that’s not enough to worry about, behind the scenes Taka starts to grow jealous at Mufasa’s burgeoning relationship with Sarabi, that threatens to derail their quest for freedom.
This leads to multiple references regarding the iconic ‘future’ when Scar lets Mufasa plunge to his death in the far more compelling original The Lion King.
And for that alone, this at least fills in some ‘blanks’. If we actually needed it of course.
The script itself isn’t anything particularly ingenious – it’s fairly linear plotting that has been done across different films before – but with the breath-taking animation taking centre stage once again,– complete with a couple of catchy tunes,– the Mufasa/Scar ‘brotherhood’ back story always proves to be watchable.
If just a little generic, and somewhat uneventful.
But as a homage to the legendary James Earl Jones – who this film is dedicated to – this still has a few poignant moments for Disney completionists to get their teeth into.
Rating: 3/5
Gavin Miller
Odeon Luxe Peterborough & Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough, Out Now
Cast: Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Tiffany Boone, John Kani, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Lennie James, Blue Ivy Carter, Preston Nyman, Beyonce Knowles-Carter & Donald Glover
Running Time: 1 Hr 58 Mins
Director: Barry Jenkins
For all the latest film information & showtimes at Peterborough’s Odeon Luxe & Showcase Cinema De Lux cinemas go to www.odeon.co.uk and www.showcasecinemas.co.uk
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